Urban Geocaching

Treasure Right Under Your Nose

Little Creatures Among Us

THE MANY MICROBES IN OUR DAILY LIVES

The Littlest Astronauts

WHY STUDY BUGS IN US . . . IN SPACE?

Just How Buggy Is Your Phone?

WHAT ITEM in your home crawls with the most germs? If you said the toilet seat, you’re wrong. Kitchen sponges top the list. But cell phones are pretty grimy too. They contain around 10 times as many germs as toilet seats. People touch their phones, laptops, and other digital devices all day long, yet rarely clean them.

Ready For Some Cryotherapy?

At this very moment around the world, athletes are stepping almost naked into freezing cold chambers.

The Future Of Money

From the gold standard to virtual tokens

How (And Why) Banks Handle Money

How (and why) banks handle money

Is It Possible To Avoid A Robot Rebellion?

ROBOT OVERLORDS roll, stomp, and fly through movies and comic books.

Cathy O'Neil

DATA SCIENTIST

Out Of Left Field Cafe

HOW DO SCIENTISTS PASS THE TIME AT FAR-FLUNG RESEARCH SITES?

Could You Live Without Your Phone?

WHAT WOULD you do with your time if you couldn’t use a cell phone, computer, or other digital device? Would you perish of boredom? Or would you feel happier and more relaxed? Some teens have tried it and lived to tell the tale. 

XIUHTEZCATL MARTINEZ

Xiuhtezcatl (pronounced SHU-tez-caat) Martinez is a 16-year-old with big hopes for the Earth’s future. Since he was 6, he has dedicated his life to the fight for global environmental health. By age 13, he had received a presidential award for his work and was selected as one of the leading youth changemakers by the Campaign for a Presidential Youth Council. Xiuhtezcatl, whose name means “Turquoise Mirror,” has brought together youth from around the world to act as warriors defending our planet.

Berry Thirsty

On a virtual farm, would you grow strawberries or raspberries?

Fasten Your Seat Belt

What if We Treated Melting Ice Like Other Possible Catastrophes?

Planet Search

Math helps us chart the universe.

The Old-Fashioned Dream Lab

How Did Scientists Without Modern Technology Study the Dreaming Mind?

What Do Animals Dream About?

Peek Inside the Minds of Sleeping Animals.

Dreams Gone Bad

The Truth Behind Midnight Hauntings.

Consolidating Dad

The dream machine makes me uncomfortable.

Are Non-Digital Toys Doomed?

ONCE UPON a time, toys didn’t whirr or flash. they didn’t connect to the cloud or unlock special content.

Guess What I'm Thinking

Telepathy May Transform From Parlor Trick to the Real Deal. 

Brain Chains

Will Actual Mind Melding Make the World Smarter—or Scarier? 

What's In A (Dog's) Name?

SOME SHELTERS ARE RETHINKING BREED LABELS.

The Motion Of The Heart

WILLIAM HARVEY’S RADICAL THEORY OF CIRCULATION

Should Blood Tests Be Part Of A Healthy Person's Routine?

IT’S A TYPICAL morning: you wake up, take a shower, brush your teeth, and then prick your arm with a tiny needle.

Do Bionic Limbs Give Athletes An Unfair Advantage?

MARKUS REHM can leap much farther than the length of your family car. He’s a world champion long jumper. But he only has one leg. He wears a device called a prosthesis in place of his missing leg. You’d think that a missing leg would cause problems—especially for an athlete. But the prosthesis Rehm wears is specially designed to propel him forward. It’s a lightweight, curved metal blade. Some call Rehm “Blade Jumper.”

Hall Of Mirrors

Hall Of Mirrors

Lending A Hairy Hand

Chimpanzees are similar to humans, even when it comes to helping.

Water Fleas, Transform!

Small Shape-shifters Prepare for Attack.

Searching for Source of Life

Imagine yourself inside a Mini Cooper–sized rocket. Try not to bump into either of the two other crewmembers or any of the computers, buttons, and joysticks that will help steer your course.